A Very Vegan Thanksgiving

Soooo, since I will the only person in my family not partaking in a dead bird, I shopped at Whole Foods and The Farm to make sure I am full on Thanksgiving. A girl still has to stuff herself silly, right?

My menu will consist of all the sides, but tweaked so that they are vegan, and mostly gluten and soy free. I did buy some soy Silk nog, because seriously? I can't get through the holidays without that rummed up nog with nutmeg on top. Ohhh yeah. Mashed potatoes will have rice milk and soy free earth balance. I will have a nuked sweet potato with cinnamon instead of the casserole which has butter and animal bone marshmallows (they were out of vegan ones at WF today - booooooo.) Butternut squash made with e.b., peas/onions, green beans w/garlic, a small portion of stuffing since there is wheat in it, salad, and I'm going to make some gf/vegan choco chip cookies. That should do it, and not send me too over the edge. I've had to detox the past couple of days after drinking and eating fried pickles this weekend, whups!

I am going to adopt a turkey tonight, to protest the slaughter of these poor birds. I know its tradition, but they didn't have a turkey at the first thanksgiving, so I won't have any at mine. I am thankful for so many things this year. My family, friends, animals I've helped, ending the clinical trial, meeting a great guy, and my health. I'll be working even harder in 2010!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

challenges and motivation

I think the first week went...okay. I was successful in cutting out the soy and I do have to say that I am much less snotty this week. Gluten was a little tough, I made lentil soup at my brothers and effed it up by adding a quinoa-orzo-couscous mix. As soon as I dumped it in the pot I was like SHIT! So I ate it, not wanting to waste it. The sugar was another toughie as I ate some vegan chocolate and vegan coconut cake this week, but at least no refined sugar. I had beer and some pita, but otherwise cut way down. I did have a glass of wine, so that messed me up a little I think. I need much more water!! I have been pretty good about the morning detox of water and lemon, but gotta have much more before dinnertime.

I really want to start on my raw diet but I can't afford a VitaMix or juicer yet, which is essential. I'll get there though! I am excited to learn about how to eat raw and reverse some of my dis-ease. I went shopping last night and it took so long to read all the labels, but I was able to counsel my friend on my new healthy food knowlege, while searching Market Basket for gluten/soy free and vegan. Not an easy feat - Whole Foods is MUCH easier to navigate.

I finally have all my essential vitamins and supplements: One a day, DHA (omega-3), Calcium, and Vitamin D-3. All vegan, which was tough to find - so many contain gelatin - yuck!

gluten, soy, and sugar free, day one

Ironic that today is my four year anniversary of being diagnosed with the canSer beastie, and it being my first day of going "free". I had a little trouble with breakfast, but overall today went pretty well! I went to Spring Brook Farm and the natural food store in Groton (since I am babysitting at my brother's for the next 3 days) to get some things, but am still really glad Trader's and Whole Foods are each 10-15 mintues away from me at home - lucky girl I am!

Breaking it down:

Breakfast - Pumpkin flax granola (a bit too sugary but haven't gotten a cereal yet) with almond milk

Lunch - Salad with cukes, summer squash, avocado, red leaf lettuce, red onion

Snack - Hummus with tomatoes and carrots

Dinner - Lentil soup (homeade) w/ kale, celery, carrots, quinoa, couscous, red onion

YUM!

breaking point

I have been sleeping with my mouth wide open for 3 weeks now. GROSS. I can't breathe because there is so much mucous in my head that even doing the neti pot 3 times a day isn't clearing it out. Know why? Cause the allergy attack I have been having all this time may not just be from ragweed as I had first thought. I am learning about internal allergies more and more. I didn't think I was allergic to soy, until I talked to my friend today who is also a doctor. She advised me to cut the gluten, soy, and sugar out until I can identify what is and has been making me nuts all these years. Cutting out dairy has definitely helped, but I want to feel even better. I want the fatigue to go away, all the snot, and aches that are caused by inflammation. So it has to start from what I'm putting in.

Luckily I hadn't grocery shopped in a good while, so there wasn't much to chuck out. The soy ice cream sandwiches had to go, as well as the Morningstar Farms products. They are full of soy, gluten, sugar, and gmo's. Well, they are made by Kellogg's after all, so I guess I should have looked more closely at the ingredients. Bye soy milk, hello almond milk. Goodbye pasta, hello quinoa. Peanut butter will be replaced by almond butter, sugar replaced with agave. My goal is to have optimal health, and if this is what needs to be done, then I'm ready. I have been vegan for almost a year, but I'm ready for the next step which is to push for raw. I still will have soups and pasta and the like, but will incorporate a high volume of raw (which is *I think* under 105 degrees) foods. I've had raw at a couple of restaurants and it is damn good. I can't wait to do some shopping tomorrow! I am going to finish my cucumber water and go to bed.